Larry Shenk, Vice President of Alumni Relations, shares his notes, quotes and anecdotes from the world of baseball.

Top $

Once upon a time, the Phillies made Mike Schmidt the highest paid player. Years later, they did the same with the signing (first time) of Jim Thome.

Now, they’ve paid the steepest price for a closer. A lot was written and posted today about Papelbon after his press conference yesterday. Bottom line: Phillies have a proven closer to go along with a proven starting pitching rotation. That’s pretty good, folks.

Sorry to see Madson depart. He leaves having pitched more games out of the bullpen than anyone in Phillies history.

When the gates to Citizens Bank Park first opened in 2004, three of the current players were on the field for the April inaugural–Madson, Chase and J-Roll. If J-Roll leaves via free agency, then we’re down to Chase as the senior member of the club.

Condolences
Nick Strincevich, a 96-year-old right-handed pitcher, recently died. He was the oldest living Phillies Alumnus. Nick pitched for the Phillies in 1948.

When he was released in June of ‘48, a rookie stepped in and took over his uniform and locker…Robin Roberts. So, Nick is part of a trivia question: Who was the last Phillies player to wear #36 before Robbie?

The oldest living former Phillie now is 95-year-old Freddy Schmidt, another right-hander. He pitched for the Phillies in 1947. The Wind Gap, PA, resident has attended the Alumni Night the last two seasons.

In August, we lost OF Alex Pitko (97) and last month, OF Danny Litwhiler (95).

Correction
Thanks to Jay Meyers for posting a correction in the blog about Thome. I wrote that Hank Aaron hit his 400th home run in 1966 at Veterans Stadium. It was pretty difficult to hit a homer at the Vet in 1966 because it didn’t even exist. The correct ballpark was Connie Mack Stadium, as Jay pointed out.

Rankings
Phillies Insider climbed notch for 15 to 14 in the October rankings of “MLB Pro” blogs. Credit goes to you. Thanks.

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.